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Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Why EFCC boss, Ibrahim Lamorde was fired

The sack of the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde, has been linked to his handling of the Corruption case against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Dan Ladi Umar, who was being investigated for taking bribes from a former Comptroller of Customs.

The House of Representatives is looking into a petition filed by Anti-Corruption Network (ACN) alleging that the chairman of the CCT was unduly exempted from facing criminal allegations of financial impropriety amounting N44.5 million.

Based on documents signed by Former Attorney General, the EFCC’s investigation revealed that Umar did not only meet the accused, he also accepted the bribe through his Personal Assistant, just as he allegedly kept on pestering the former customs boss for the balance of the N10 million that he had requested. Helpless to meet up with the balance, the Comptroller petitioned the EFCC in the case against Umar. The EFCC reportedly launched a case against him and found out that he texted the Customs boss his account number using his own mobile phone number (withheld).

Umar also sent the former customs boss the details of his Personal assistant (names withheld) to Comptroller’s telephone number (withheld).

The former NIS comptroller reportedly paid N1.8 million into Umar account, which his personal assistant withdrew the same day, precisely on December 12, 2012. After reviewing the facts of the bribery case, Bello Adoke (SAN), the former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), wrote to President Goodluck Jonathan on May 7, 2014, stating: “In light of the foregoing, therefore, Your Excellency may wish to initiate the necessary steps for the removal of the Chairman.”

Lamorde reportedly wrote back to the AGF stating that there was, in fact, strong evidence to suggest an attempt by Umar to “cover up” the bribery scandal.

Sources yesterday said the Chairman of the EFCC might have dropped the charges against Umar, because the Senate started investigating him on August 26, 2015.

In the petition addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, ACN wondered why the EFCC failed to comply with the directive by the in Attorney General of the Federation via a letter ref HAGF/EFCC/2014/Vol.1/19 dated 26 June 2014, that Umar is subjected to a probe of criminal allegations leveled against him and one Malam Ali Gambo.